Grace didn't move.
Lauren didn't either.
For a moment, the warehouse held nothing but darkness and the slow drip of water echoing somewhere above them.
Then a sound cut through the silence.
Static.
A low crackle.
Hidden speakers came to life.
And then—
His voice.
Calm. Familiar. Certain.
"I told you," Ted said. "I'd show you."
Grace's blood ran cold.
She looked up instinctively.
There was no one there.
Only steel beams, shadows, and a narrow catwalk stretching across the ceiling.
Lauren spun, panic rising.
"Where are you?" she shouted.
Ted laughed softly through the speakers.
"Oh, Lauren," he said. "Still looking for a body."
A figure stepped forward from the shadows.
He wore a dark hoodie and an improvised metal mask that covered his face completely—rough, unfinished, bolted together like something built in a hurry.
No eyes visible.No expression.No humanity.
He didn't speak.
He didn't need to.
Grace felt her chest tighten.
Ted's voice returned, almost amused.
"Don't bother asking his name," he said. "Names make people feel safer."
Grace understood immediately.
This wasn't muscle.
This was precision.
"You hacked the system," she said.
Ted sounded pleased.
"Courts. Police networks. Prison call logs," he replied casually.A pause."The justice system runs on outdated software and worse assumptions."
Lauren's voice shook.
"Where is Mark?"
Ted didn't answer.
Instead, a light flickered on above them.
The second level of the warehouse.
The catwalk.
And then—
A muffled sound.
A weak voice.
Lauren froze.
"Mark?" she cried.
The sound came again. Faint. Strained.
Ted sighed theatrically.
"He's here," he said. "Breathing."
Grace clenched her fists.
"You're violating every condition of your sentence," she said. "Every law."
Ted laughed.
"I'm not calling you," he replied smoothly. "I'm not texting. I'm not touching a phone."Another pause."I'm just… talking."
The sound system hummed softly.
"You think bars stop influence?" Ted continued. "That silence is enforced by distance?"
Lauren took a step forward.
The masked man moved instantly, blocking her path.
Fast. Precise. Silent.
Grace stepped in front of Lauren.
"Don't," she said quietly. "He wants panic."
Ted chuckled.
"You always were observant," he said. "That's why this had to be personal."
Grace lifted her chin.
"This ends now."
Ted's voice sharpened slightly.
"No," he said. "This balances things."
"You lost," Grace said. "The court made that clear."
"The court," Ted repeated slowly. "Is just a building full of rules written by people who've never met someone like me."
Another sound echoed from above.
Mark's voice again. Weaker this time.
Lauren broke.
"You hurt him," she sobbed.
"Not yet," Ted replied. "But choices have consequences."
Grace stepped forward.
"What do you want?"
The speakers crackled softly.
"You," Ted said. "Your silence. Your obedience."
Grace shook her head.
"You never owned me."
Ted's voice lowered.
"Then choose," he whispered."You walk away with him alive… or you let the system you trust take its time."
In the distance, barely audible, a siren wailed.
Ted heard it.
The masked man tilted his head slightly—almost curious.
"Tick. Tock," Ted said calmly. "Let's see who arrives first."
Grace felt the weight of the moment settle deep into her bones.
Ted wasn't breaking the system.
He was proving how easily it bent.
And whatever came next—
There would be no undoing it.